he and his family were locked away at a camp in the hot arizona desert. that's because he was of japanese descent, and the united states was at war with imperial japan. >> that is why the commanding general of the western defense command determined that all japanese within the coastal areas should move inland. notices were posted. all persons of japanese descent were required to register, and the japanese themselves cheerfully handled the enormous paperwork involved in the migration. >> i think that it's important for people to know about what happened to the japanese-americans during world war ii. >> japan's devastating surprise attack on hawaii's pearl harbor fanned the flames of national hysteria, particularly on the west coast. more than 100,000 japanese-americans were ordered to pack their things. the uchidas were forced to leave their home in pasadena, california. >> they were first, actually, put in the santa anita racetrack where they lived for about six months in actual horse stables, and they actually had to clean out the stables and make it liv